Not much has gone right this season for right-handed starter Zach Eflin or the Orioles.

Eflin, expected to lead the rotation, has pitched to a 5.93 ERA in 14 starts, battling lower back pain throughout the season while the team has skidded to a 53-66 record.

That hasn’t deterred Eflin’s desire to return to Baltimore next season, he said.

Eflin, who will have a season-ending lumbar microdiscectomy procedure on Monday, will be a free agent after this season. He said he “absolutely” is considering signing with the team again.

“I love this clubhouse,” he said. “I told pretty much everyone that we’ve had a conversation about that, I told them I love this place and I’d love to be here. We’re going to get the operation done and kind of see where this takes us.”

The pain, Eflin said, has landed him on the injured list at least once every season, but an MRI this year showed the injury is worse now and that the disc is pushing against a nerve. Doctors tried an epidural first, but that didn’t work.

The pain comes and goes, Eflin said. In Cleveland, during his second-to-last start, he pitched five innings with his back feeling as normal as it could. But five days later against Toronto, in what would end up being his last start of the season, he wasn’t comfortable at all as he allowed four runs in 4 1/3 innings.

“It’s been disappointing, depressing,” Eflin said. “Just to try to throw a baseball, that I wasn’t necessarily comfortable all the time and it’s not a really good place to be. ... I don’t like thinking back because I didn’t necessarily feel good at times when I threw, but I also didn’t pitch well at the same time. So I feel like I owe this team a lot more than I gave them, but at the end of the day I have to take care of my back. I got to get something done.”

Part of his motivation too, he said, is how much this is impacting his life outside baseball. He has four young children, including a 6-month old.

“I wanted to get this done because it doesn’t necessarily only affect me here,” he said. “I’ve got to be a dad. I’ve got to be able to pick up my kids and stuff. So I think with this operation it’s going to help me be a better dad too.”

Eflin doesn’t know the timeline — he said it can be anywhere from four to eight months — but the hope is after 12 weeks he can resume normal offseason activities so he can be ready for spring training. This procedure should provide a permanent fix to the pain.

“I think it’s more so going to be how much I stay on top of the rehab for it, and the core work that goes along with it is going to be a huge part of my career moving forward,” he said. “Everything that I’ve read and have seen that other guys go through, it takes all their pain away as long as they stay on top of it.”

Eflin, who will be 32 next season, has a career ERA of 4.28 and nearly nine years of service time. The Orioles, who will need starting pitching help, could make him a qualifying offer, which last year was a one-year deal worth $21.05 million. The 2026 value has not been announced.

Although he likely would want a longer-term deal, taking a qualifying offer would give him a larger one-year sum than he would probably get on the open market and a good season could help him earn more after the 2026 season.